King William's Labyrinth--Day 24

Today we took our daytrip to Hampton Court Palace for class, a journey which required the use of the Southwest train system. It sounds a lot more glorious than it actually was because the trains are usually nothing more than overground tubes. Our journey from the student residence to Hampton Court took us about an hour and a half, with only half an hour to 45 minutes of that dedicated to the train ride. Fortunately, the palace was only a few minutes' walk from the train station. We bought our tickets and headed inside to the Base Court, from which many of the palace's best areas can be accessed. Hampton Court Palace (HCP) began as the agricultural estate of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem sometime in the mid-1200s. It slowly began to be used as a residence for royal visitors and then began to take full-time tenants when its use as a hotel of sorts for foreign dignitaries diminished following the demolition of the royal palace at Byfleet. Eventually, the Archbishop of York (Cardinal Thomas Wolsey) was given a 99-year lease on the palace. He added many sumptuous apartments to the palace, and he ended up giving the palace to King Henry VIII when his reputation as an extravagant man put him in the public's disfavor, and he needed a sort of peace offering to King Henry VIII to prevent the King from taking any dire actions against him. The rest of the palace's history is comprised of rebuilding and expansion at the hands of various monarchs. It was eventually opened to the public at the behest of Queen Victoria, and it has been a popular destination for visitors to London ever since.

I'm not really sure what this is supposed to be, but it looks really cool (those are not real people at its base). The surrounding architecture is a nice example of Tudor brick and is found in Base Court.

 Our first stop was the gallery holding Andrea Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, a series of six or seven panels depicting various details of Roman life and triumph in battle. The paintings were acquired by Charles I from the financially unstable Gonzaga family of Mantua. Ever since then, they have been a staple of HCP, most notably as the representation of King Henry VIII's ambitions on the battlefield. I really loved the high level of detail of the panels and also the pops of color (reds, greens, and blues) amidst the duller browns, creams, grays, and blacks.

Our next stop was King Henry VIII's kitchens, which were really cool because the palace has tried to re-create what the culinary operations of the Tudor time would have looked, sounded, and smelled like. A real fire burns in the fireplace in the main hall, and pre-recorded sounds like the chopping of meat and and cooking of soup can be heard from speakers placed throughout the rooms. The palace even brings in fresh vegetables to display in baskets as if the kitchen's operations have not stopped in the past 350 years. Another cool aspect of the kitchens was the wine cellar, which I think Mom and Dad would have enjoyed. There is even a little gift shop adjoining the cellar if visitors want to pick up any Tudor cookware for their own use. My roommate found a book of pudding recipes, so hopefully we will get to try those out soon!

A cute little old cart in the courtyard outside King Henry's kitchens.

Peacocks seem to be a common theme in this palace.

King Henry's Wine Cellar.

After we left the kitchens, we found ourselves in a charming little courtyard with a fountain in the middle. Of course, I couldn't resist taking a photo. At the other end of the courtyard was the entrance to King William III's apartments. The ceiling at the base of the stairs leading to the apartments was richly painting with Greco-Roman-style cherubs and gods and goddesses, which I thought were really pretty. The first room of the apartments was the Guard Room, where a Yeoman Warder watched over the King's rooms. The walls of the Guard Room were decorated with all sorts of weapons (muskets, handguns, spears, daggers, and swords) arranged in beautiful patterns. Again, I think my dad would have enjoyed it (and also David, too). As you might expect, the rest of the apartments were beautifully decorated and sumptuous. King William's closet was bigger than my room last year at Augustana. He even had a desk to write on.

The fountain in...Fountain Court. Aren't the Brits creative?

Just for the art of it.

The ceiling above the staircase that leads to King William's apartments.

King William's Guard Room. Just look at those guns!

Then came my absolute favorite part of the whole day! We found the gardens! The Formal Gardens are very large and composed of broad avenues lined by large manicured trees. A large fountain forms the center of these gardens. A little to the side of the Formal Gardens are the Privy Gardens, a little smaller and more private. Along the wall of the Privy Gardens are dozens of varieties of flowers of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. I just loved the whimsical topiary and the interesting shapes the gardener achieved with the grass and plant beds in the Privy Garden. There is another fountain at the center of these gardens. Even more secluded are the Pond Gardens, for which my pictures speak better than I ever could. Tucked at the corner of these gardens is the worlds largest grapevine, which is capable of producing between 500-700 pounds of eating grapes each year (sold in the palace shops in early September). This sounds impressive, but in its heyday, the vine produced almost 2500 pounds of grapes a year. Again, I think my parents would have found the Great Vine very interesting. After investigating these fascinating gardens, we went to find the famous maze commissioned by King William III. It is a rather deceptive maze because there are very few forks in the paths, so you think you must be getting close to the end when another fork appears. We found the center of the maze (there is a plaque and a little open area where you can sit and rest if you want), and obviously we got out, but not in the traditional way. We ended up finding our way back to the entrance instead of the exit! So I think you could say that the maze beat us because we did not find the proper way out. Maybe I'll get the chance to try it again someday and actually figure out how to find the exit...

Some of the flowers alongside the Privy Gardens.

More flowers.

Awww...it looks like a Hershey's Kiss!

The Privy Gardens.

Hampton Court Palace as seen from the Privy Gardens.

The fountain in the Privy Gardens.

One of the Pond Gardens.

Another Pond Garden. Notice that the pink flowers make the shape of a crown.

World's largest grapevine--The Great Vine.

Me enjoying the seclusion of the Pond Gardens.

We concluded our day at Hampton Court with a little tour in which actors portraying King Henry VIII, Catherine Parr, and others played out some interesting royal drama. Catherine Parr was accused of harboring heretical thoughts and of consorting with heretics. She was even issued a warrant for her arrest, but she was able to convince her husband that her religious views coincided with her own, so nothing came of it. The mini-play was really interesting and funny, proof that history doesn't have to be boring. The performance took place in the adorable Tudor Garden, which has roses, little metal ships, and heraldic animals that must mean something to the royal family (okay, I get the lion and the dragon but the other ones I'm not so sure of).

A ship in the Tudor Garden.

I think it's some kind of goat.

The fearsome dragon!

The even more fearsome and ferocious lion. Actually, I am a little frightened. In case you were curious, the other five animals were a deer, a dog, a polka-dot wildcat (again, I have no idea), a bull, and an eagle.

Tomorrow shouldn't be too busy. Of course, I'll do my weekly grocery shopping and Skyping with my family, but I also have some work to do on a presentation for art history. I will be nice to have a rest day of sorts after today, which kept me moving all day and really tired me out. I do hope to have something interesting to share with you tomorrow, though, so check back for a new post in the evening as usual. Ciao. :)